Ian PattersonLast month, I had the privilege writing an article for Buddies magazine. I chose to write about the the ABS (Association Breast Surgeons) conference in Birmingham, UK. It was an excellent conference. Unusually for a surgical conference, there was a sessi...

Breast Course for nurses CBMHWe have just finished another Breast Course for Nurses at CBMH. It was a similar model but as always, there was something new. The health care workers attending the course were a mixture of state and private nurses. Not only did they come from different ...

Flamingo list. Tygerberg Hospital: over 100 proceduresEarlier this year, I started working at Tygerberg Academic Hospital (TBAH), Cape Town. I last worked there 18 years ago and returning has been quite remarkable. I am working in the Breast and Endocrine unit with Dr Karin Baatjes and Dr Ilna Conradie. In 20...

Kenya's 1st Annual International Breast Cancer SymposiumSr Lieske recently attended the 1st Annual International Breast Cancer Symposium in Nairobi, Kenya. The following is a summary that she wrote of the 2 days that she spent there: Lieske, Samuel and Julie "I arrived on Wednesday evening to a green, lush and b...

MySchool Application - Breast Course for NursesThe Breast Course for Nurses is our registered NPO aimed at equipping health care workers with the skills to manage patients with breast problems. To date, 750 health care workers have completed the Breast Course for Nurses. Courses have been held in the fo...

Breast Course for Nurses day 2, MaronderaDay 2 at Marondera Hospital proved to be as interesting as the first day but was different as we had more doctors and oncology sisters attending. In the morning, there were general lectures and discussion about the management of breast cancer and the challe...

Breast course for nurses: Marondera day 1Last week, Anna Nyakabau, Sr Lieske and I ventured to Marondera in Zimbabwe and held a two day Breast Course for Nurses. The first day was over-subscribed and we ended with attendance by 80 health care workers. The majority were midwives and registered nu...

Pink Cricket 2018Last weekend, Tony and I were invited to go to the Pink Cricket at the Wanderers. Every year, one of the T50 games raises funds for a breast cancer project. Over the last few years, the money has gone to Pink Drive. This year, the money went to Charlotte...

Regaining confidence after the diagnosis and treatment for breast cancerI recently had the privilege of listening to a short story on BBC radio 4 called " chemo brain " written by Susmita Bhattacharya. Susmita is a writer and a teacher and she developed breast cancer and like many people found life difficult afterwards. (Inte...

Survivorship or comprehensive care programmesA second part of our meeting last month dealt with the topic of survivorship programmes for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. What do we mean by a survivorship programme? Should we not amalgamate all into a comprehensive care programme? Li...